The Gospel of the Son of God
Ok, finally! Back by popular demand, I decided one year from my last post to tackle a subject so important that it literally means life or death for those who get it, and that topic is the GOSPEL. Just begin speaking with people about their understanding of God, sin, salvation, Jesus Christ, Heaven or Hell, and you will hear a number of responses, some of which are so crazy you wonder what they were smoking when they thought of it. Recently, I had an encounter with someone who believed everyone was going to heaven. When I asked this very sincere, friendly, and honest person what about atheists who don't believe in God, agnostics who believe we can't know such a Being, or Hindus who believe in reincarnation (a destination which is definitely not heaven), the person looked at me with a countenance of shock/surprise and downright bewilderment. With a simple inquiry to other beliefs, I shattered the glass ceiling on this person's worldview, something I honestly wanted to do in order to move him to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The very next moment led us to speak of absolute truth even though we did not use that kind of language. My friend understood that if I was correct with my exclusive views and his inclusive views were wrong, then that meant he was wrong, some people are definitely in hell, and that moment was suddenly not a good time to talk about it. By God's grace we did move closer to Gospel proclamation, and what I told him was something he had never heard in "church" before now. Even as a minister who should be prepared for the inevitable (I've had these conversations with people hundreds of times), this one shook me to my core, because I saw someone who was totally convinced he was heaven bound based on the fact that he was a "good person." He told me God wanted to use him for God's purposes, because God knew what kind of "good" he could bring to other lives.
It was for people like my friend that I came to Baton Rouge to start La Croix Church, people who are religious to the core, family people, wealthy by all standards, but as lost as sheep gone astray. Their only hope in this life and the one to come is the Gospel. In fact, our only hope as Christians in this life or the one to come is the Gospel as well. It is the same truth that saves us that changes us more into the image of Jesus Christ, but what exactly is it? What should we tell our friends who need to be saved?
Mark 1:1 says, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." In Mark 1:14-15, Jesus is seen declaring, "Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel." What is this Gospel of God?
The word "gospel" means "good news" that is accompanied with great joy. It comes from the word (ev-angel) which signifies a "messenger" who comes to declare this good news. Typically after a great victory on the battle field, an ev-angel was sent back to the the kingdom to declare that their military had defeated the enemy and victory had been achieved which would have brought along with it great joy for the people. Likewise, Mark is using the word in a similar sense biblically in that when he says, "the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God," "the Gospel of God," he is declaring something that God has done/will accomplish through Jesus Christ His One and Only Son. In other words, the Gospel of Jesus is not something you do for God but something God alone does for you. It is the difference between good news and good instruction, grace and advice.
That's really the difference between Christianity and every other religion on the face of the planet. Other religions as my friend was espousing offer good advice for better living. They don't get you to God. In fact, if they are theistic at all, their god is usually angry at you with the result that you constantly serve him in order to earn his favor. The Gospel is radically different. It is not self salvation through good works but salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. In the words of Tim Keller, "The gospel is: I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey.' Religion is: 'I obey, therefore I am accepted.'"
What my friend needed to understand is that all his serving, good works, and happy thoughts were not good enough for our holy God. All the earning, serving, and loving would never be enough to satisfy the debt we racked up through our inherited sin nature and willful acts of sin before this great God. However, "God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Our biblical "newspaper" has declared that God did it all through His only Son through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That truth still marches on today as messengers like me declare it just as it is. My prayer is that the eyes of my friend's heart would be opened to see that when Jesus declared, "It is finished!" on the cross, He meant it. The work has been done. Repent from your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Good News! He is the Gospel!
The very next moment led us to speak of absolute truth even though we did not use that kind of language. My friend understood that if I was correct with my exclusive views and his inclusive views were wrong, then that meant he was wrong, some people are definitely in hell, and that moment was suddenly not a good time to talk about it. By God's grace we did move closer to Gospel proclamation, and what I told him was something he had never heard in "church" before now. Even as a minister who should be prepared for the inevitable (I've had these conversations with people hundreds of times), this one shook me to my core, because I saw someone who was totally convinced he was heaven bound based on the fact that he was a "good person." He told me God wanted to use him for God's purposes, because God knew what kind of "good" he could bring to other lives.
It was for people like my friend that I came to Baton Rouge to start La Croix Church, people who are religious to the core, family people, wealthy by all standards, but as lost as sheep gone astray. Their only hope in this life and the one to come is the Gospel. In fact, our only hope as Christians in this life or the one to come is the Gospel as well. It is the same truth that saves us that changes us more into the image of Jesus Christ, but what exactly is it? What should we tell our friends who need to be saved?
Mark 1:1 says, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." In Mark 1:14-15, Jesus is seen declaring, "Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel." What is this Gospel of God?
The word "gospel" means "good news" that is accompanied with great joy. It comes from the word (ev-angel) which signifies a "messenger" who comes to declare this good news. Typically after a great victory on the battle field, an ev-angel was sent back to the the kingdom to declare that their military had defeated the enemy and victory had been achieved which would have brought along with it great joy for the people. Likewise, Mark is using the word in a similar sense biblically in that when he says, "the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God," "the Gospel of God," he is declaring something that God has done/will accomplish through Jesus Christ His One and Only Son. In other words, the Gospel of Jesus is not something you do for God but something God alone does for you. It is the difference between good news and good instruction, grace and advice.
That's really the difference between Christianity and every other religion on the face of the planet. Other religions as my friend was espousing offer good advice for better living. They don't get you to God. In fact, if they are theistic at all, their god is usually angry at you with the result that you constantly serve him in order to earn his favor. The Gospel is radically different. It is not self salvation through good works but salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. In the words of Tim Keller, "The gospel is: I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey.' Religion is: 'I obey, therefore I am accepted.'"
What my friend needed to understand is that all his serving, good works, and happy thoughts were not good enough for our holy God. All the earning, serving, and loving would never be enough to satisfy the debt we racked up through our inherited sin nature and willful acts of sin before this great God. However, "God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Our biblical "newspaper" has declared that God did it all through His only Son through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That truth still marches on today as messengers like me declare it just as it is. My prayer is that the eyes of my friend's heart would be opened to see that when Jesus declared, "It is finished!" on the cross, He meant it. The work has been done. Repent from your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Good News! He is the Gospel!
posted by Barry Lagg at
1:28 PM
2 Comments:
Finally!!! Glad to see you back in the blogosphere.
Keep up the good work, Brother B!
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